Broken Clocks
by JuniorL.Cloud
Summary: After Kiritsugu's death, Shirou was adopted by Jubstacheit von Einzbern and trained as a magus under Kirei Kotomine and Bazett. Will Shirou be a magus, a Heroic Spirit or follows his father's footsteps as a magus killer?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Emiya Shirou sat quietly under a tree as the men lowered the coffin into the ground. Fujimura Taiga or Fujinee, his soon to be guardian stood beside him, her eyes puffy. Shirou passed her a tissue and she nodded in gratitude while blowing her nose.

He had no idea how should he react to it. His father, Emiya Kiritsugu had passed away in a mysterious manner. He knew he should be crying like the others but why? Why wasn't he crying? Was he glad that his father was finally able to rest in peace?

Shirou hugged himself tighter as the rain grew heavier. Most of the mourners had went back including Fujinee who claimed she had some business to do regarding of his father's will. Some came towards him, offering their condolence and others gave his some advice. But none, none was able to console him. Although his face might no be showing the despair, his heart hurts, a lot.

Kiritsugu was his saviour, the man who gave him a second chance in life. He could never repay him for his deed. It can never be repaid. Unless...

Shirou suddenly had an idea. He remembered promising his father to be a hero of justice. Perhaps he could be one but how? He had not learn much about magic, so how was it possible for him to be a hero?

Just then, he heard footsteps. The red head looked up, surprised to see a foreigner standing right in front of him. Beside him were two other foreigners nicely dressed in western style clothes. Each held a black umbrella. The old, tall foreigner with shoulder length snow white hair and pale skin stared at him, his black eyes scanning Shirou's appearance.

"Excuse me...who are you?" Shirou asked, not aware that the foreigner might not understand Japanese. The man indeed looked gigantic to him, as if he was a midget staring at three giants.

The old man chuckled. "Hello, little one. I am Jubstachiet von Einzbern, the eight head of the Einzbern family." He spoke, in a deep yet crystal clear Japanese.

Shirou titled his head, not able to catch his name. "Jubs...von...Einz...?" He stammered. It was his first time speaking to a foreigner and the name sounded too alien to him.

"I see. Emiya Kiritsugu have never told you about me." Jubstachiet muttered while rubbing his beard.

Shirou's eyes widened when he heard Jubstachiet mentioning his father's name. "Wait, you know my old man?" He exclaimed.

"As much as you do, little one." Jubstachiet faked a smile. He didn't want to show to Shirou his hatred over Kiritsugu, the man whom had betrayed him. He needed to convince the boy that he was on the good side. Or he might risk losing Shirou from joining the Einzbern. IIyasviel will not last long and he needed a human heir. Kiritsugu's adopted son looked promising to be the heir after his men had spied on him. The boy has talents.

"Anyway, come. You must be wondering about magic aren't you?" Jubstachiet asked, adding more excitement into the boy. Shirou nodded and chased after Jubstachiet. He grabbed the man's hand much to his surprise. Jubstachiet always thought he looked scary to kids and they will never dare to approach him. It seemed that he was wrong. Or was Emiya Shirou different?

"Of course! I want to learn them! They are so cool!" Shirou exclaimed, his eyes shining in joy.

Jubstachiet raised his eyebrow upon hearing the word 'cool'. For over two centuries, he have not heard of anyone using the word 'cool'. Even his servants had not mentioned of the word to him. What on Earth does it mean? Cold? Anyway, he chose to ignore the child as they headed into a car, which Jubstachiet hated the most. Modern invention reeks to him. But he had no choice. It was the only transport vehicle available.

As the car sped away from the cemetery, he glanced at the red head who was jumping up and down in excitement. He looked around the car, his eyes gleamed with curiosity. The sight of the boy somehow reminded Jubstachiet of his younger days in Germany. He was often excited when his father brought him on the ship or on a horse. Everything was always exciting to him until when he became the head of Einzbern. Suddenly, his perspective of the world drastically changed. The world no longer seemed a happy place to live. It was gloomy and dark.

He felt a tug on his sleeve. "So, mister. Where are we heading to? Since you know my father, you must be a good person!" Shirou said in an innocent voice.

"Well" Jubstachiet hesitated, trying his best to think of a way to arrange his words which suits a child's understanding. "I am a magus too, little one. You father told me to teach you the art of magic. I wondered if you interested to learn real magic?"

"Oh yes! Of course!" Shirou instantly replied.

_This is going well, I suppose._ Jubstachiet rubbed his beard.

"You see, little one. You are an orphan now aren't you?" He spoke, watching the child's reaction. The boy nodded weakly when he heard that. "I thought perhaps you might like to be my grandson. Well, I live alone in my castle and I needed-" before he could finish his words Shirou immediately replied.

"Yes, sure. I would love to be your grandson! Please take me in! I have no family anymore!" Shirou begged, his tears filled his eyes. "Besides, I want to learn magic!" He cried.

_That was far easier than I expected_...Jubstachiet whispered to himself. He was expecting to face a stubborn headed child who will go against the idea. But Shirou's immediate acceptance was really surprising.

"That would be great, little one!" Jubstachiet pretended to be overjoyed. He patted the boy's wavy red hair and shook his hand. He was not really used to attending a child so it was kinda awkward for him to interact with Shirou. He only learned that trick of patting the boy's head from one of the servants just now. Jubstachiet was glad the trick work as Shirou instantly like that.

"So where are we heading mister?" Shirou asked.

"To my castle. It is a huge house in a forest" Jubstachiet replied, heaving a sigh of relief that his task has finally completed. He waved his hand, signalling his driver to speed up. He couldn't stand to sit in a moving box for a long time. He desperately needed to have his feet back on ground.

"Is that the castle in the forest in Fuyuki?" Shirou blurted out. He had heard of rumours from his friends about a mysterious castle built out of nowhere in the forest. Some said it was haunted while others said the owner had left Japan.

Jubstachiet was utterly surprised to know that Shirou knew about the existence of his castle. However, it wasn't the right castle he was referring too. Guffawing, the old man said "No, little one. We are heading to another castle."

"Cool! Where is it?" Shirou's eyes widened.

"Germany. My fatherland" Jubstachiet said, proudly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Broken Clocks**

**Chapter 2**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fate Stay Night and anything in the Fate series. **

**A/N: I was indeed overjoyed to have such good response from the readers! Thank you so much! **

**To LightofPurgeandsShadowofEmbrace, coronadomontes, Serac, Guest and Windninja1000, thanks for the reviews! They were really useful and motivated me to continue this story. **

**I would like to apologise for the OOC in the previous chapter, so I will try my best to avoid having such errors in the upcoming chapters. Do correct me if you have found any in this chapter. =)**

**Anyway, I hope you will enjoy this chapter. Happy reading!**

* * *

The wind blew in a frightful fury as the sun began to descend. Although it was summer, the area surrounding Einzbern Castle had never stopped snowing. Instead, it grew worst ever since a certain entity had arrived at its compounds.

Jubstacheit von Einzbern stood by the windows with his usual cold expression. His hawk like eyes were fixed at something in the crystal ball.

"Einzbern" Kirei Kotomine spoke. The priest and former Executor of the Church walked towards Jubstacheit as he followed Jubstacheit's gaze at the crystal ball. It was showing him an image of a boy being chased after a pack of hungry wolves in the forest. He eyed at Jubstacheit, certainly not impressed by the sight.

"Looks like I have just been invited to watch a circus" Kirei sighed. As he was about to head out from the room, Jubstacheit stopped him.

"Wait. You have not seen the best part yet" Jubstacheit smirked. "Besides I know what you are seeking for"

Kirei instantly paused. He turned towards the Einzbern patriarch, raising his eyebrow. "What do you mean?" he replied coldly.

"You want Emiya Kiritsugu dead" Jubstacheit said, a part of his long white hair covered his left eyes. Kirei hesitated. The name 'Emiya' had been haunting him for five years. He had no idea why did the name remained in his mind nor why he cared much about it. However, the name 'Emiya' was synonymous to Kirei as a fool.

Emiya Kiritsugu was a genius but at the same time a fool. It was undeniable that the Magus Killer was one of the many people whom had captured Kirei's attention. Due to his refusal to be a proper mage, Kiritsugu was a shame to the Emiya clan. The Emiya's legacy ended in the hands of the Magus Killer. It was a real shame as the previous patriarch of the Emiya, Emiya Norikata was a genius in magic. Born with a Sealing Designation, the Emiya family received great recognition from the Mage Association.

No one would have expected the Emiya's bloodline to have just ended abruptly. It was the family's greatest failure. Emiya Kiritsugu had turned himself away from the Association and became a freelancer. He was a skilled manipulator. The man could easily manipulate a mage's pride and magic in order to strike them. He was a brutal man who would do anything to achieve his target. Kirei was told by the Association that Emiya Kiritsugu once blew up a whole plane just because his target was in it. He even bombed the condominium where Kayneth Archibald resided during the Grail War Emiya Kiritsugu was a fear to all mages until his sudden death, years after the Holy Grail War.

With Emiya Kiritsugu, Kirei's rival dead, the man should be rejoicing. Instead, he found himself sympathising the Magus Killer. Kirei was devastated that Kiritsugu died before he was able to kill him. The priest felt the only way to satisfy his desire was to have his arch rival dead in his hands. However, he failed to kill the man.

But Jubstacheit's words had certainly made him wonder. Was there another chance for him to kill Emiya Kiritsugu? "He is dead. Angra Mainyu's curse had ended his life" he replied.

Jubstacheit chuckled. "Are you satisfied with that ending? I can grant you another chance to kill him with your own hands"

"I thought the Einzbern had lost their knowledge of the Third Magic. You can't resurrect the dead, Einzbern." Kirei snorted.

"You are mistaken, priest. I meant by this boy." Jubstacheit pointed at the red head who was fighting for his life as the wolves tried to drag him away. "Do you know him?"

Kirei squinted his eyes, trying to get a clearer picture of the boy. Flaming red hair, bright yellow eyes…Kirei shook his head. "I have no idea" he shrugged. "A new version of homunculus I suppose?"

The Einzbern patriarch laughed. "I wouldn't spend much time to create a more colourful version of a homunculus. Having Ilyasviel was troublesome enough"

He zoomed in closer to the boy. "He is an Emiya. The name is Emiya Shirou. He is Emiya Kiritsugu's adopted son" Jubstacheit explained.

The new discovery had almost stirred up Kirei's emotions. He had no idea how he should be reacting. Was it joy, fear or shocked? He stared at Jubstacheit, totally puzzled by the sudden turn of events. "I didn't know there was another Emiya around." He said.

"He was the only survivor of the Great Fire caused by the Holy Grail War. I supposed you know of that?" Jubstacheit sneered. The Great Fire was indeed catastrophic. Besides, it had caused chaos in the Mage Association as the public began to ponder over the weird events in Fuyuki City. It was a total mess that even Jubstacheit was being interrogated by the Association over the suspicion of causing the chaos.

Kirei nodded. "So why did you bring this Emiya to Germany?" he questioned.

"To help you redeem your revenge while having him as a wildcard for the upcoming war." Jubstacheit smirked. He stared at the crystal ball, amused to see Shirou writhing in pain.

"Wildcard? You mean this boy? I don't feel any magic from him." Kirei snorted. He looked at the crystal ball closer. Emiya Shirou was no mage nor a copy of Emiya Kiritsugu. He was just like the other humans, weapon less and weak. Even the weakest mage could easily defeat him. "He won't stand a chance in the war, Einzbern. He has no magic in him" Kirei continued.

Jubstacheit chuckled. He sat on a chair and placed both of his hands on the arm rests. Smirking, he said "Are you sure?"

* * *

It was cold. Bitterly cold.

Laying on the heap of thick snow, Emiya Shirou sighed. He stared at the sky, hoping to catch a glimpse of the sun among the thick mist. The snow had never ceased although it had been weeks since he was last tossed into the forest by Jubstacheit von Einzbern.

"That bastard…" Shirou cursed. He regretted of following Jubstacheit to Germany. The man had promised to teach him magic but he lied. It was a false hope given by a , Jubstacheit brought him to Germany without the consent of Taiga Fujimura. Upon reaching the grounds, Shirou was instantly locked in a small cell where he was forced to listen to weird incantations from Jubstacheit and his albinos.

It was pure torture. Instead of giving him food to eat, Shirou was left in the cell without food or water. He had no choice but to feed on the insects in the cell. Although they tasted slimy and odd, it was for survival. Jubstacheit had offered to give him the Emiya's crest if he were to survive the imprisonment and Shirou had agreed to it.

Every midnight, Jubstacheit will send his albinos servants to the cell. Shirou had no idea what they had done to him. He swore he had been sedated the moment they performed the odd ritual on him. Drop by drop, the albinos forced Shirou to drink a peculiar liquid. He wanted to vomit the liquid out but his body seemed to be preventing him from doing so. After the thirteenth day, he was totally drained out. He felt something growing in him and was eating his organs, feeding his blood.

When the albinos led him out from the cell, he was overjoyed. He had no idea how long he had been writhing inside in the cell. He really missed the fresh, crisp air and warm rays of sunlight. But the sheer happiness did not last for long. Moments later, he was brought to Jubstacheit who had been waiting for him in the forest.

This time he was with a girl who looked exactly like the albinos, red eyes and white hair. However, unlike the albinos, she was full of expressions. She seemed to have a mind of her own and acted more humane. Shirou guessed that she might be Jubstacheit's granddaughter as she called the man as 'grandfather'.

She eyed at him as if she had just saw a ghost. The girl wanted to touch him but Jubstacheit quickly warned her. He pushed her aside and headed towards Shirou. "You are still breathing" he spoke, finally breaking the ice.

"Of course. I AM alive" Shirou scowled. Jubstacheit chuckled at Shirou's response. "Good, it proves your durability. Sella, Leysritt, bring him to the wolves. I hope the implantation is done?" Jubstacheit asked. The two homunculus servants nodded.

In a blink of eye, Shirou found himself right at where he was right now, trapped in another torturous cell. The forest was no ordinary forest. Every single hour, weird creatures began to appear and attacked him. Armed with only his hands and legs, Shirou had no choice but to run for his life. He spent days of constant running and fear until one day his legs decided to give in to death.

"I surrendered" Shirou muttered. He glanced and saw a pack of hungry wolves heading towards him. He knew he was gonna died being mauled by those ferocious beings but he didn't mind at all. The constant chase had made him sick. Shirou was desperate to die.

He chuckled. The old Emiya Shirou will never give up. He would accepted any challenge and do his very best to complete it. Emiya Shirou had died once and God had given him a second chance. He was the only survivor of the Great Fire. His 'death' had led him to Emiya Kiritsugu, the man of his ideals. He wanted to be a hero of justice, like Kiritsugu. It was a promise made between him and the old man before the man's death.

"I need to save people…the world needs a hero…" Shirou whispered. A sudden gush of energy burst in his veins. Clenching his fists, he forced himself up, ignoring the piercing pains in his joints. Nothing could stop him. He lived for a purpose and the purpose was to be a hero of justice. "Besides, I can't die again!" he growled and charged towards the wolves.

The weird incantations Jubstacheit and the albinos read to him for the past months ringed in his ears. Without thinking, Shirou realised he was chanting those words by himself. Purplish red sparks formed from around his fingers. Using the projection magic he learned from Kiritsugu, Shirou projected a sword. He slew the wolves into two and the sword instantly degenerated itself upon the first attack.

A wolf leapt on him, trying to bit Shirou's head off. He immediately projected another sword and decapitated the wolf, sending the head flying into the bushes. Blood splattered all over his face as he slew every single wolves until none were left alive. As soon as he dealt the final blow, the purplish red sparks appeared again and travelled towards him, striking his body. The electrocuting sensation flowed fast in his veins and was about to reach his heart when a certain force pulled it back.

Shirou fell to the ground, his body sinking into the bloodied snow. The scent of blood wafted in the air. It was the same feeling he had when he was trapped in the Great Fire. The scent of burning corpses, rotting flesh, screams and cries, how could he forget them?

He touched his face and realised he was not covered with blood but drenched with them. The boy sighed. "Perhaps I was not meant to be alive" he whispered and slipped into unconsciousness. The last thing he saw was the familiar smile of Emiya Kiritsugu and the joyful tears.

"Thank god…you are alive" Kiritsugu cried and hugged him.

* * *

The presence of a foreign voice woke Shirou up. The boy's eyes widened and he immediately jumped up with a loud gasp.

"My lord, the boy has awaken" one of the homunculus said monotonously.

Hearing that, Jubstacheit placed his cup of Darjeeling tea down and stood up from his seat. He headed towards Shirou with another Japanese man behind him. The two shared the same cold, empty gaze and expression. At the instant, Shirou grimaced. The scent of blood lurking from the two men were nauseating.

"Congratulations, Emiya Shirou. You have passed the test" Jubstacheit said.

Shirou glared at the man. "What test? It was all torture! You lied to me about teaching me magic!" he hissed and tried to charge at the man. However, a certain force forcefully pushed Shirou back to the bed and bounded him at the position.

"An invisible force field. I should have known…" Shirou muttered. He grabbed his arm which was giving him an intense pain.

Jubstacheit raised his eyebrow. "Oh, it seemed that Emiya Kiritsugu had taught you some basics of magic…I must say I am impressed with you, Emiya Shirou." He chuckled.

Shirou's gaze shifted towards the Japanese man clad in a priest uniform. The man nodded at him with an expression as empty as Jubstacheit. "Who are you?" Shirou questioned.

The man grinned. It seemed as if he enjoyed watching the growing suspicions in the red head. Placing both of his hands to the back, he spoke in a thunderous yet hollow voice. "Kotomine Kirei. A humble priest from the Church. I am the overseer of Fuyuki City" he said.

"I didn't know that mages like you are those religious kind" Shirou remarked sarcastically at Jubstacheit. The man scowled at Shirou's remark.

"The Church and the Mage Association co-existed with each other. In short, I am a mage too" Kirei snickered while fidgeting with the cross across his neck.

Upon hearing that, Shirou snorted. "No wonder the old man wasn't keen of bringing me to the Church." He muttered.

"Emiya Kiritsugu was no mage though he was an _admirable_ man." Kirei replied, his thunderous voice reverberating throughout the room. As if he was speaking on a microphone.

Shirou twitched. Biting his lips, he glowered at Kirei. "My father was the real thing. He was a great mage!" he snapped.

Then, the air freezes. Kirei glanced at Jubstacheit who seemed amused at Shirou's ignorance of the truth. "It seems that he ought to learn the truth, Einzbern" said Kirei.

"Let's just save that part for later. What is important is that the magic crest had finally manifested in Emiya Shirou's body." Jubstacheit replied and signalled the homunculus servants to move away. He lifted the force field away and edged closer towards Shirou. Seeing the man, Shirou immediately retreated.

Jubstacheit placed his hand on Shirou's forehead and stared straight at the boy's eyes. For a moment, Shirou swore he felt a force pulling his soul out from his body. It felt like he had just met the gaze of a devil. The Einzbern muttered something under his breath and suddenly Shirou began vomiting blood. The red liquid poured out continuously from his mouth. He felt a burning sensation in his spine.

"Einzbern…did you just…" Kirei gasped. He couldn't believe his eyes. It was theoretically impossible to implant a magic crest instantly into a being! Moreover, it was more impossible to have it in a non-magus!

The grotesque scene stopped abruptly when the crest was finally in sight. The crest, engraved in a magic circle formed on Shirou's right chest and was burning in flames. Shirou watched in horror as the crest began to dig further into his skin. He tried to resist it but he just can't. The force was overpowering. Slowly, the flames began to die off and the bleeding stopped.

"How do you feel, Emiya Shirou? Isn't it wonderful to have a part of Emiya Crest inside you?" Jubstacheit snickered.

"I feel…horrible." Shirou replied as he winced in pain. Honestly, he did felt a new energy growing in his body as soon as the crest was engraved in his body. But it wasn't a wonderful thing to boast about. He felt alienated.

"Kirei, he is now yours" Jubstacheit smirked and handed a small case to the priest. The priest accepted the mysterious object with a puzzled look. It was a rosewood case. He opened it and raised his eyebrow upon seeing the object. It was no other than a gun.

"A gun? I hope you do know that we, mages had great dislike of modern machineries." Said Kirei. Mages like Tohsaka Tokiomi were technophobe. They were always against modern technologies and would rather bury themselves in piles of ancient stuffs than using them. However, it was not the same for Kirei. He had nothing against guns and was impressed by them during his battle with Emiya Kiritsugu. The weapon itself was able to seriously injured Kayneth Archibald, a first class mage and penetrate Kirei's defence.

"It is no ordinary gun, priest. It's called a Thompson Contender and it was Emiya Kiritsugu's favourite choice of weapon." Jubstacheit chuckled. After the war, he took everything in Kiritsugu's possession including his magic crest as a form of punishment. Of course, the man couldn't resist. Angra Mainyu curse had made him half dead.

"Emiya Kiritsugu…" The moment he laid his fingers on the cold metal, Kirei felt a surge of memories flooded in his mind. From the very day he met the Magus Killer to their final battle. He checked the barrel. There was still a bullet in it. It turned out that there was about a dozen bullets inside the rosewood case.

"I trust you with Emiya Shirou. Do what you think is right and make sure you will bring him back to me before the Fourth Holy Grail War. Alive." Jubstacheit threatened.

However, Kirei was not listening to him. He was engrossed at the sight of Thompson Contender. Flipping it around, he couldn't help but to admire the weapon. It was after all a Conceptual Weapon, being so powerful that it can even defeat a Heroic Spirit. Why a brilliant man like Jubstacheit would entrusted him with it?

"This brings back memories. It was just like Tohsaka Tokiomi's dagger" He grinned and aimed the weapon at the dazed Emiya Shirou who was recovering from the intense pain. Judging from the widening of his eyes, it seemed that Shirou knew his life was in danger but he was unable to dodge away.

Instantly, Jubstacheit was alarmed at the sight. He rushed towards Kirei and tried to stop him from pulling the trigger. "Kotomine Kirei! What are you doing?!" he shouted.

Kirei guffawed and placed the gun right into the case. Jubstacheit heaved a sigh of relief when he realised that Kirei had no fired the shot. "He will be an excellent candidate. I know what I should do with him" the priest said. He returned to his usual cold, emotionless personality. The priest grinned in satisfaction at Shirou.

"Rejoice, boy. You shall be no other than an Executor." He ruffled Shirou's hair and pretended the boy was enjoying it although it was obvious that Shirou was scowling at the touch.

_And of course, you will die in my hands…Emiya._ The priest sniggered.

* * *

**I made Shirou to join Kirei as an Executor. What do you guys think? Do comment in the reviews or you can p.m me. I will be glad to answer any of your questions. =D Thanks for reading! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Broken Clocks**

**Chapter 3**

**A/N: Sorry for the late update! Being busy with college recently. Anyway, I hope you guys will enjoy reading this not-so-long chapter! =)**

* * *

_Shut you eyes and prepare never to see the light again. _

Emiya Shirou reminded himself again. He had no idea how many times he had been chanting those words nor how long it has been since he was grounded inside the room. The red head looked at his surroundings. There was not a single source of light in the room other than the small gaps from the door.

Frost began creeping to his fingers as the temperature dropped further. "That goddamn devious priest!" Shirou punched the walls.

_It didn't hurt._

His body felt really, really dead. He just can't feel anything not even the cold or the pain on his fist. The boy punched harder on the wall until he could see blood. In normal circumstances the sight of blood would looked disgusting to him. However, he seemed to enjoy looking at the red liquid oozing out from his flesh. Perhaps it was due to him not seeing anything other than white for the past days. The colour of the blood suddenly brought him back to life.

Tap. Tap

A rhythmic footsteps could be heard. The sound of the heels tapping against the floor echoed throughout the narrow hallways. Shirou rushed to the front, wondering who it was. He grabbed a broken piece of plate on the floor and held with the sharp end pointing outside. He swore if it was Kirei Kotomine, he would kill him instantly.

But it wasn't. There stood a foreigner with blood red eyes. His golden hair shined as it he was seeing something made of pure gold. The man was dressed in black and white and emanates a totally different aura from Kirei. He looked really grand and powerful.

The man stared down at Shirou with a frown. It was as if he was looking at something disgusting. "So, you are the one that priest decided to take in as his apprentice? What a horrible looking insect" he spat on the floor.

Shirou was puzzled. It was his first time seeing this man throughout a week under Kirei's watchful eyes. At a second glance, Shirou thought that he wasn't even human. The man did not have the aura of any magus or normal humans. He was something…_different. _His sixth sense was telling him that.

"You are an Emiya?" he asked. Shirou nodded.

The foreigner smirked. "Then, show me. Show me your magic, mongrel."

"What?"

The foreigner frowned. He ripped the metal bars off and grabbed Shirou out from his cage. Lifting the boy from his shirt, he hissed "Show me the powers of the son of Saber's master!"

"What shit are you talking about, you blondie!" Shirou snapped and grabbed one of the metal bars. He quickly reinforced it and hit the man right at his shoulders.

"You…you mongrel!" he shouted and chased after Shirou. The boy ran as fast as he could, climbing up stairs and jumping from windows to windows until he suddenly realised he had reached a dead end. There were no more windows in the room and there was only a door which unfortunately the blondie was there.

In his hands was a sword, a very refined sword which amazed Shirou. The boy had tried projecting swords but never projected one as fine as that sword. He tried reading the structure of the sword but it was too complex. It would take days for him to fully project the sword.

"I must say I am amazed a lowly commoner like you have the guts to challenge a king like me. However" he paused and flicked the sword. "This is your end" he smirked.

"Oh yea, let's see who's the winner here" Shirou replied arrogantly. He knew he was losing but he won't give up unless he try. There's always a chance. He leapt towards the blondie and attacked him from below. His attack were parried and he was thrown to the walls by an unknown force.

Shirou immediately recovered and reinforced his weapon again. He grabbed a wooden stick from the floor and reinforced it to.

"Trying to be a double wielder? You can't even hold a single weapon properly. How pathetic" the blondie tormented.

"Shut up!" Shirou darted from the side and attacked. However, something odd happened. The man wasn't attacking. Instead he summoned seven swords from nowhere and had them to go after him.

"Oh shit" Shirou muttered. _That's so not fair!_

"Stop there Gilgamesh!" a female voice shouted.

The swords stopped. The blondie, named Gilgamesh turned around. At the door, stood a girl of Shirou's age. She was dressed in black church robes. Her light grey hair was an exact contrast to Gilgamesh's shimmering golden hair. It was dull yet fitting to her curious pair of golden eyes.

"Ara, here comes the priest's daughter." Gilgamesh sighed and walked away from Shirou. He stared at the little girl with threatening gaze. "You are annoying, little girl. I won't think twice about killing you" he hissed.

She didn't even look at him. Instead, she gave an arrogant sigh and spoke "By all means, Gilgamesh. Leave"

The blondie shrugged and left the half destroyed room.

The girl did not stop staring at Shirou. She approached him but Shirou quickly stepped away. For the past months, every single person he met was either evil or weird. None of them were even normal. He can't trust them.

"Are you gonna kill me? Or perhaps torture me, just like your dad? You are the devious priest's daughter aren't you?" Shirou hissed.

"No. No. Yes." she replied nonchalantly and grabbed Shirou's hand. She then forced him to sit on the couch while she get some bandages and medicine. "Sit still while I treat on your wounds. Oh yes, and here drink some hot chocolate. You must be freezing. And also wrap yourself with these thick sweaters." she instructed.

Shirou eyed at the mug of hot chocolate suspiciously. He sniffed at it and stared at the inviting warmth. "Don't worry. It's not poison. Don't compare me with my father." she said and forcefully pushed the mug to Shirou's mouth.

"Bleh! My tongue just got burned!" Shirou exclaimed.

"Oh my! God please forgive me then!" she clasped her hands and began to seek apology.

"Aren't you supposed to apologise to me?" Shirou asked.

She raised her eyebrow. "Why should I?" she replied, puzzled. "I don't apologise to people when it's my fault. You are weird" she chuckled and sat opposite him.

"Another weirdo" Shirou thought to himself as he sipped the hot chocolate. It had been a really long time since he was fed with such warm and good food. The Einzbern fed him with left over stew and water while Kirei fed him with nothing except air and plain icy water. The boy touched his stomach and swore he could feel his ribs poking out.

"So what's your name?' Shirou began the conversation.

The girl looked surprised. "You mean my father have never mentioned to you about me? Not even once? My name is Caren. Caren Ortensia. I was raised by my mother's relatives so I adopted their surname." she explained.

"I'm Emiya Shirou." Shirou introduced him. "You can call me Shirou if you want but normally my friends called me Emiya-kun."

"Emiya…huh?" Caren whispered. "Anyway, you should actually thanked me for saving you from that Gilgamesh."

"Gilgamesh? You mean that foreigner?"

"Yup. He's my father close friends and he's really annoying. You shouldn't get close to him. Those two are actually not welcomed to reside in the Ortensia's residence but since it's an order from the Einzbern family, we have no choice. The Ortensia family isn't a really prestigious mage family so we have to bow to great families like Einzbern." Caren sighed. She headed to the wardrobe and began searching for something. It was an old set of boy's clothes.

"Anyway, your clothes are tattered. You will need a new one." she smiled.

"Wow, I amazed. Are you sure you are that priest's daughter? Because you don't act like him" Shirou wondered.

Caren glared at the red head. "Don't speak ill of my father. That's a sin!" She slapped Shirou's hand. "But that's a good point too" she laughed.

"He promised to teach me stuffs about magic just like Jubstacheit. But he lied. Besides, he had me locked in that freezing cold cage for days with just water and almost had me being killed by his so called close friend." Shirou grumbled.

"Hush" Caren placed a finger on Shirou's lips. The touch of her caused Shirou to blush. Suddenly, he realised that Caren was leaning closer to him. His face grew redder.

"Aha, I found your weak spot!" Caren exclaimed. She giggled at Shirou's reaction.

"What the hell?" Shirou blurted out. _It was just a test to find out my weak spot?_

There was a knock on the door. Shirou and Caren froze. Their eyes were fixed at the door knob. The door opened revealing Kirei Kotomine. Gilgamesh stood behind him with a smirk.

"Kirei Kotomine…" Shirou growled. He wanted to just jump on him and kill instantly but was stopped by Caren who seemed happy at her father's presence.

"Father!" Caren exclaimed and went to hug the man. Kirei's face showed no expression. He did not even look at his daughter. Instead, he was staring at Shirou.

"It seemed that you are stronger than I expected, Emiya" Kirei spoke.

Shirou rolled his eyes up. "Obviously" he huffed.

Kirei moved towards Shirou. He knelt down until he was of Shirou's height. He brandished an old box to the boy and passed it to him. "I hereby bestowed you as Kirei Kotomine's apprentice. This is a gift for you for passing the test. It's from the Einzbern family. It is believed to be left by Emiya Kiritsugu"

Shirou quickly opened the box and found a gun in it. "What's this?' he wondered. There was a note inside the box. It was written in German with blood. "Thompson Contender, owned by Emiya Kiritsugu" Kirei read aloud.

Gilgamesh laughed out of sudden. "Wow, just wow" he remarked sarcastically. "I can't stand your jokes anymore, Kirei" he said and left the room. His laughter echoed along the hallways.

"I can't trained you as an Executor as I am pretty busy with the Church's works. So, I shall be handing you over to my fellow friend." Kirei explained.

"Am I some sort of item? To be traded around? You are bribing me with this aren't you? You know what, I am just gonna kill you now" Shirou snapped. He held the gun right at Kirei's temple and showed no hesitation to pull the trigger.

"You know, a real warrior doesn't kill when he is angry. He kills with a good reason and with dignity." a voice interrupted. Standing behind Kirei was a foreign teenage girl in a business suit and violet necktie. She had a short Magenta hair and a hole below her left eye.

"Ara, if it's not Miss Bazett. Looks like you are early today" Kirei said calmly and stood up. He ignored the fact that Shirou was pointing a gun at him and went on to talk to the newcomer.

Bazett Fraga McRemitz nodded. "My friend has seek for my help. Shouldn't I be helping?" she replied. Her gaze set on Shirou who quickly aimed the gun at her. Suddenly, the boy felt really, really scared. The sight of Bazett had given him the equivalent goosebumps when he fought with Gilgamesh.

"Put down your weapon, young boy." She ordered which Shirou obeyed. Bazett then knelt to Shirou's height and patted his head. "From the way you look at your surroudings, it seemed that you have face a great amount of fear and stress. You are just traumatised, aren't you?" she asked.

When Bazett mentioned that, Caren glanced at her father who seemed nonchalant about that. She knew it was her father who had been playing a fool with Shirou. She had heard his conversation with Gilgamesh but she couldn't do anything. She was still her father and a well-respected priest.

Tears fell. Shirou didn't realised that he had actually broke down when Bazett said that. Suddenly, he felt like a human again. He felt he was reborn.

"Please" Shirou whispered. "Take me away from this hell"

Bazett was surprised to hear that. "What does he meant by this hell, Kirei?" she turned towards the priest.

Kirei shrugged. "He is a survivor of the Holy Grail War. Perhaps he is referring to that."

"Father!" Caren exclaimed and wanted to tell Bazett of her father's doings but the priest stopped her. He shook his head and smiled. Caren understood the signal. She nodded, reluctantly.

"I see. It's alright, kid. I will be your teacher for now. I will teach you many things." Bazett assured Shirou. The boy nodded.

"Deal?" Bazett held her hands out.

Shirou smiled. He reached out for her hands and held it as tight as possible. "Deal"


End file.
